


Life and Death

by DarkxPrince



Series: Tales of the Light [5]
Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:28:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7565437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkxPrince/pseuds/DarkxPrince
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(quick prompt) After escaping Oryx's trap upon the moon, Rayina returns to the Tower to reflect upon a curious object.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life and Death

Rayina sat in her darkened quarters, gazing down at the object on her desk. The Hive tomb husk she had kept from their most recent mission cast a soft green glow about the room. She wasn’t entirely sure why she had taken it with her, perhaps a small part of her had wondered why Eris kept one. Had wondered what was so special about the tomb husk. Staring down at it - Rayina could begin to understand.

She had only been studying it for the past few hours, reaching out with the arcane powers that all Warlocks had. It was more than a “mere rock” as Cayde liked to say. That had been apparent the first time she had picked it up. She could sense the energy within the tomb husk, feel it pulsing. Yet there was something else, something that she could feel at the darkest corners of her mind. Eris often said it would  _speak_  to her,  _whisper_  to her in her mind. Yet how was that possible if the tomb husk was merely energy? The answer was simple - it wasn’t.

It should have been obvious, really. After all, it was called a  _tomb husk_. Yet it also wasn’t alive - not completely, anyway. There was no soul there to communicate with, yet at the same time, there was a sliver of a soul. So the question remained; was the energy within the tomb husk remnants of a long dead Hive or was a tomb husk bound to some Hive monstrosity keeping it alive and on this plane of existence? In the end though, did it really matter? Regardless of what it really was, she could hear it at the corner of her mind - _the whispers_.

Yet unlike the Vex - and despite their name - the Hive did not share one conscience. Though what did they truly know about the Hive other than their desire to devour all Light? It was tempting, to give into the whispers. To embrace all that the Darkness was offering. If this was what Eris had to deal with every waking moment, the Awoken Warlock had new found respect for her.

“They are such fascinating objects, are they not?” A voice spoke from the entryway, startling Rayina out of her thoughts. Rayina knew it was Eris Morn even before she turned. The other woman had her own tomb husk with her, the object floating above the palm of her outstretched hand.

“Yes,” the female Warlock murmured, returning her attention to the object upon her own desk, “It is.”

“Tell me, Warlock,” Eris stated, moving to stand beside her. “What drew you to the tomb husk?” Giving a mirthless chuckle, she continued, “Was it survival, as it was for me? Or was it the same twisted curiosity that drove Toland to his madness?”

Rayina didn’t respond, merely continued to stare into the endless darkness of the tomb husk. The whispers continued in the back of her mind; she swore she saw Oryx’s sneer, hear his laughter within the blackness. Maybe she really was going insane. Either way, was that really so bad?

“Maybe,” Rayina muttered, “It was a little bit of both.”


End file.
